Kamen Rider CLAW (2013 Ver)
by Shuriken16
Summary: In the year 2013, the ancient creatures known as Dreamon have resurfaced, wanting to continue their conquest of taking over humanity through their fears. However, when a young timid teen named Nick gains possession of the power of his Dream alter-ego: The "Ninja of Dreams", he's thrown into the war of Humans and Dreamons. Can he help humanity as he does in the Dream World?
1. The Ninja of Dreams

Chapter 1: The Ninja of Dreams.

_Long ago in ancient times, humans were involved in a constant battle with monsters originating from another realm. These monsters were known as "Dreamon: Your greatest fears come to life." The Dreamon sought to rule over planet earth by taking over the bodies of the humans through their fears. However, they were stopped and were sealed in their realm, dubbed: The "Nightmare Realm", to spend the rest of eternity in turn for their adversaries to spare their lives. Despite this agreement, a group of Dreamon refused to submit to the humans and lead a revolt against them, breaking out of their eternal prison and in turn, capturing and taking possession of human hosts. Legend has it, that when the wall between dimensions was broke__n,__ mankind began to experience nightmares, caused by the rogue Dreamon and their subordinates in an attempt to continue their ancestor's objective. It is unclear what happened to the rogues, but one thing's for sure: People still have nightmares, which turn into fears, which turns them into Dreamon. And only one thing can stop them: The Ninja… of Dreams._

* * *

_[Staten Island, New York: February 2013]_

* * *

"The 'Ninja of Dreams' huh…?" The young teenager scoffed as he tossed the Daily News newspaper into the trash. He slid his cold hands in his pocket and continued on his walk to his school. "Savior to all those having bad dreams… I'll admit though, if I ever have a bad dream, I'll be sure to give him a call."

Seventeen Year old Nicholas "Nick" Jackson was a loner—a very shy, insecure teenager who lived in a world of dreams, with every dream of his stored in a notebook. A notebook filled with various stories of the "Dream World", where anything and everything was possible—A world where he wasn't shy, where he had friends, where he lived life to the fullest; a life where he didn't have to live in the fear of having bonds.

He was a light tan skinned boy with short curly hair, and thick-rimmed glasses. He wore a blue and white plaid shirt with khaki pants and loafers to match. He heard other students call him a "Hipster" from his glasses, to "Steve Urkill" from his dress style. But to him, he didn't care. He didn't like any of them. He didn't wake up every morning to go to school and 'impress' anyone there. He came to do what he had to do and go home afterward, every day from Monday-Friday. He followed that routine for almost three years and with the new term starting, he wasn't going to break it.

Nick arrived at Mckee High just as the school bell rung to alert the students that the day has begun. He looked at his schedule and made his way up the staircase to his first class of the day: English. Once there, he took a seat all the way in the back and in the corner, so that he would be out of the way from everyone. It's the start of the new term, so everyone's eager to sit next to their friends. By sitting in the corner, he wouldn't have to worry about interfering in a group's seating arrangement.

"Hey, is anyone sitting here?"

Nick looked over and saw a black haired girl standing next to the chair. She was a fair skinned girl wearing a light blue hoodie and a white shirt, with blue skinny jeans and sneakers. She had a small smile on her face, to indicate that she was friendly.

"…No…" Nick hesitated to respond due to his shyness.

"Great; all the other seats were taken so…" she said as she dropped her bag on the back of the chair and took a seat. "I'm Layla by the way."

Nick turned his head away. "Nick…"

"Is something wrong?" Layla asked.

Nick turned back. "Look, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I'm not one to make friends."

"Oh no not at all, just getting acquainted with the new school and all…" Layla replied. "I just transferred from Sylvester High in Manhattan and—"

"Yeah, that's great." Nick interrupted her. "Just please, stop talking, I'm busy." He took out his notebook and flipped a few pages in it and began to write.

Layla was taken aback from that and took his advice. "Yeah sure; I'll leave you to your 'Dungeons and Dragons homework' then."

"You know, I see a seat on the other side of the room still available, mind taking it and getting away from me?" Nick snapped.

"Okay buddy…" Layla turned. "Just to let you know, I may look White but I'm half Puerto Rican and my Puerto Rican side's about to take over and kick your butt all across Spanish Harlem. You have no idea how lucky you are that I have to—"

"Are you still talking!?" Nick snarled. "I said to stop talking to me! I don't care that you transferred here; I just want to be left alone! There's twenty-five other students in here, go make friends with them!"

Layla's anger grew within her, the Spanish blood in her forcing her hand upward, just desiring to smack Nick across the face for snapping at her like that. But she let her self-control kick in and she calmed down.

"Alright then." She took her bag and stood up. "It was nice meeting you Nick." She walked away and took a seat elsewhere, the students whispering to each other about what happened.

"Man, what a jerk!" one of the student's whispered.

"It's no wonder the kid doesn't have any friends, he snaps at people the first chance he gets."

"Man, I'd hate to be the parents of that 'mistake'."

Nick stood up, grabbed his stuff and walked out the classroom, having enough of the comments he heard. Layla's eyes followed him to the point where he disappeared out the doorway.

"This… is going to be harder than I thought." She sighed.

* * *

_[Midtown Manhattan…]_

* * *

"_Are you sure this is the kid? I mean… he doesn't seem to fit the role of 'Hero'."_ Layla's voice said through the Bluetooth.

"Yes, I'm sure it's him." The owner of it replied. "What's the problem?"

"_Well for one, you could've told me that he's a Grade-A piece of work. I introduce myself, and he tells me off. Jeez, I've worked with shy guys before but this kid's on an entirely different level."_

The owner laughed. "Sounds just like you when you were a new recruit."

"_If you say so… By the way, there was something else I noticed about him."_

"What is it?"

"_He had a notebook that he was writing in."_

"Well you are in Highschool, Layla. That's what you're supposed to do in class."

"_I know that! But class didn't even start then but he was writing something. I don't know what it was exactly… maybe it was a journal?"_

"And that strikes you as odd because…?"

"_I don't know; it just seemed… out of place."_

"Hmm… keep monitoring him. Anything changes, call me back."

"_Oh right; about that…"_

"You lost him, didn't you…?"

"_Not lost, per se… but um…"_

"Layla… find him. If they get to him first then all of this will have been for nothing."

"_Can you at least fill me in on what makes him so special in the first place? He's not just some regular new recruit you've been keeping track on is he?"_

"Not quite. He's a special case."

"_How special, that I have to track him down if my life depended on it?"_

"You've heard about the 'Ninja of Dreams' stories going viral over the last month right?"

"_Yeah, that's what RnD have been slaving over to figure out since people have been having their nightmares cured without SADE's assistance; makes Dream Driving less necessary for the Strike Force when it comes to Dreamon Hunting."_

"Yeah, well this kid has something to do with that Ninja. Which is why I need him, here."

"_What are you going to do to him?"_

The owner reached over and took the silver and green ninja star in his hand and brought it to his face. He looked at both sides and smirked. "I'm gonna make his dream, become a reality…"

* * *

Nick found himself on the city bus, riding back home. It was a first for him because he never cut class before then, under any circumstance. He held a reputation of having perfect attendance for his school career, not one class was he ever absent from. He pondered the thought of apologizing to Layla. And maybe then they could become friends. But then he would say something or do something to break their friendship, and then he would be alone again, just like all the other times he attempted to make friends. Figuring that it'd be a long ride back home, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep…

And as if it was instantaneous, he opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of Bryant Park in Manhattan. He listened to the traffic cruise by, the tourist around him snap pictures of each other to share with their friends and family back at home, and he took a breath of the classic NYC air. This was his ideal world; his Dream World. The one place where he could be truly open and happy…

"_Such a beautiful world you have here Nick."_ A young male voice told him out of nowhere.

Nick jumped and spun around, finding the man with his arms behind his back. he was a tall, Japanese man with short black hair, dressed in a black uniform with gold highlights along the sleeves and pants legs. On the blazer was the insignia of a silver Italicized "S"

"How do you know my name…?" Nick asked the stranger.

The man took a step closer, making Nick take one back.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Nicholas." The man told him. "I just thought we'd meet here before we do in the real world. As a matter of fact I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask me…?"

"What do you know about the rumored: 'Ninja of Dreams'…?"

Nick crossed his arms. "It's just a myth, only an idiot would believe in him."

"Well, I believe in him. Does that make me an idiot?"

"Looks like it."

The man nodded slightly. "I see. Because you see, 'Mr. Dream Ninja', I wanted to speak to you about a job offer."

Nick's attention suddenly became focused on him. "How did—"

"Look kid, I'm only twenty-four years old." The man told him. "However, I come from a long line of warriors who have experience with the Dream Dimension. Call it a hobby."

"Alright, so you know then." Nick said. "I created the Ninja of Dreams."

"What for exactly…?"

"He's my inner self." Nick admitted. "My Alter-ego; He's the guy who's not shy, not insecure, and can make and protect the bonds he shares with the people around him. He's the guy I want to be."

"Well now, that's very interesting. I'll keep that in mind." The man nodded. "Now then if you'll excuse me, I have to get to work."

He turned around and started to walk to the tall building across from the park.

"Hey wait! What was that about a job offer?" Nick called out.

"Come to this building tomorrow afternoon after school." He pointed to the building he was walking towards. "Any and all questions will be answered once we meet again Nicholas Jackson." He suddenly stopped and turned his head. "Is your Ninja going to take care of him or should I?"

Nick raised his eyebrow and started to hear sound of growling. He decided to turn around. "What the…? What is that thing?"

"The cause of your Ninja doing what he does. That is a Dreamon: Man's greatest fears come to life."

The Dreamon growled, resembling a disfigured Primate, his body bright red and his fur black. his eyes were shining with ruby red irises isolated in the middle of deep black eyes. It was dressed in a bandoleer holster across his chest, and red combat pants. It beat against his chest and roared this time, the force of the roar blowing Nick onto the ground.

"Dreamon…?" Nick turned to the man.

"I'll explain later, Just stand back." the man walked forward.

"Hold on. Just… who are you?"

The man turned back to him and smirked. "My name is Takeru Takaiwa. And this, is Kyuge."

"Kyuge…?" Nick repeated.

"_He means me." _

Nick looked down and saw a palm-sized robotic fox walk up to Takeru. It was black, with its joints and forehead clad in a yellowish-gold color.

"Kyuge, let's run wild!" he lifted his left shirt sleeve and revealed a black mechanical wrist band. In his right hand, he held a gold crescent moon item which he threw into the air.

Kyuge locked onto the item and leapt into the air, grabbing it with its teeth. His eyes flashed gold and it transformed into a fox claw, which landed in Takeru's hand.

"Take notes Nick, you'll be doing this soon." Takeru slid the transformed Kyuge onto his wrist.

"_**CLAW SET!"**_ the device announced as a black mechanical belt followed afterward. Takeru pulled the claw off his arm and held it to the sky.

"HENSHIN!" he pulled his arm back and ran the claw across his belt, it latching onto the dock on the middle of it, becoming a belt buckle.

"_**SAMURAI MODE!"**_ It announced once again. The belt unleashed a gold frame work of Takeru's body as he stood up straight and aligned himself with the frame. The gold frame went through him as black armor covered his body. Once the frame work disappeared, Takeru was replaced with a black Samurai with gold arms and legs under the armor. On his right hip, he had a red hilted Katana, and his helmet resembled a Kabuto helmet, the eye sockets housing a pair of golden glass eyes with the mouth covered in a silver mouth guard.

He drew his sword and charged the Dreamon, the Dreamon following the same pattern.

* * *

Unknown to them however, on top of one of the trees in the park, a Silver and Green armor-clad Ninja watched, twirling a familiar matching colored Ninja Star in his hand. His attention turned to Nick and he took the Shuriken and casted it towards him…


	2. The Rise of the Shinobi

Chapter 2: The Rise of the Shinobi

Nick stood dumbfounded at the sight of the mysterious man taking the form of something straight out Power Rangers.

"This has to be a dream…" He said out loud.

Takeru slashed the Dreamon twice across the torso before turning back to him. "Well of course it's a dream. I wouldn't have been able to find you unless I did a Dream Drive."

"A Dream what—ow!" Nick yelped as he grabbed his cheek. He turned towards the ground behind him and noticed the shuriken stuck in the ground.

He then turned back towards the tree, but it was empty.

"I'll explain everything later!" Takeru called out to him, while continuing to fight the Dreamon. Takeru flipped over the Dreamon and delivered a vertical slash down its back.

It dropped to its knees, in pain, fighting its way back up.

"Oyasumi Nasai…" Takeru spoke softly, detaching his claw off his belt. He slid it back on his wrist as his katana and wrist started to spark with gold electricity.

"_**CLAW SET: FINAL SLASH ATTACK!"**_

The monkey Dreamon shook off the pain and roared at Takeru who bent his knees and pulled his right arm back.

"Static Crescent Slash!" he took a step forward and disappeared, as if moving like lightning. He reappeared behind the Dreamon, swung the electricity from his arm and slid the blade into the sheath. The Dreamon's body suddenly sparked with the same electricity and roared in pain. It fell forward and ignited in flames afterward.

Nick shielded himself from the heat and waited for the explosion to end before looking over his arm.

"That was…" He tried to say. He looked at Takeru who walked up to him.

"Don't forget; that building: tomorrow after class." Takeru pointed and smirked. "And any and all questions will be answered. See you then Nicholas Jackson…"

Takeru continued to walk towards the building, leaving Nick standing there, wondering who this man was and what he was in store for. He picked up the shuriken and examined it, before feeling himself losing consciousness.

* * *

Nick opened his eyes and realized that the bus was one stop away from approaching his stop. He yawned, reached for the bell and grabbed his bag.

Inside his empty house, Nick traveled to his room, not bothering to check for other signs of life. Both of his parents were at work, and he didn't have any siblings so he didn't have to worry about looking for them either.

He ran upstairs to his room where he threw his bag on the bed and hopped into his computer chair in front of his television. If anything could take his mind off of what he just experienced, it was Halo 4.

The game started, and he wasted no time heading into Spartan Ops to start the new missions for the week.

Nick's Spartan dropped into the area, clad in Silver Armor with Green accents on the arms, legs and on parts on the helmet. The silver-visor Spartan aimed its Battle Rifle and began to fire at the grunts charging him.

* * *

Nick was so engrossed in the game he didn't know that two hours went by since he started playing. The five missions were done and he set the controller on his desk and scratched his head, smiling with accomplishment. His attention was stolen by the sound of the doorbell ringing as he got up and raced downstairs to answer the door.

He opened the door, being greeted by a UPS delivery man.

"Package for Nicholas Jackson…" The tall Caucasian man stated.

"But I didn't order anything…" Nick replied, surprised.

The deliveryman looked at his pad to check to see if he had the right address. "This is 435 Castle Street, right?"

Nick nodded.

"Well, this package is designated for a Mr. Nicholas Jackson, who lives at 435 Castle Street. Just sign here."

Nick sighed and took the pad, signing his name.

"If I were you kid, I wouldn't turn down free stuff. No telling what's inside of there. I bet its life changing."

Nick gave the deliveryman a look and closed the door.

The deliveryman snickered. "You owe me one Takeru…"

* * *

Nick ran back to his room and grabbed his keys from his desk to break the tape off the package. He sat on his bed, broke the tape and began to pry the tabs from the box.

"Wonder what's inside this thing…" he wondered, throwing the stuffing and bubble wrap to the side. He reached the bottom of the box and pulled the objects out. One was a silver mechanical arm brace with a black strip across the top. The other object was a silver and green shuriken.

Suddenly, Nick's dream came back to him and he tossed the objects to the headboard of the bed and flew back as far as he could from them. His breathing became heavy as various thoughts began running through his head.

"What—how? That was a dream, there's no way this is happening…" he told himself. "Unless… I'm still dreaming…"

His phone chimed, alerting him of an incoming text message. He raced to grab his phone, realizing that the text came from an unknown number. He opened the text.

_No you're not dreaming._

"What the hell…?" Nick started to get scared as the text message replied to him. "Now my phone is talking to me?"

Another text message came through reading: _No doofus, this is a real person. For someone who dresses like the "King of the Nerds," you're pretty stupid._

"Who are you, how did you get this number?"

The 3rd message came: _Remember that cute girl you blew off this morning in class? She wants to talk to you. How fast can you get to the Staten Island ferry?_

"I don't know, thirty minutes?"

The fourth and last text message came through: _"We'll meet you there in thirty minutes. Don't be late! And don't forget to bring my brace either."_

Nick was afraid to question what just happened so he grabbed his jacket, his bag and that gear that he got in the mail and headed out.

* * *

"Can I have my phone back?" Layla looked over to her left where she sat in the ferry terminal.

The phone leapt into the air and she caught it, saving Nick's number into the phone. "You think he's going to show?"

"_He will, I can assure it. He is me after all."_

"He's a small mechanical Tiger?" Layla joked.

A small green-striped silver tiger hopped into her lap and got comfortable before looking up to her.

"I flatter you and you have the nerve to crack jokes? Be grateful I'm even getting him to come here."

"Alright, alright I got it." Layla apologized. "Thanks for the compliment by the way…"

"Only saying what he was too shy to say." The tiger replied. "Wake me when he shows up, will ya?"

Layla inserted her earbuds into her ears and switched her phone onto Facebook. "Got it…"

* * *

And so, thirty minutes passed and the bus pulled up into the terminal. As the people flooded off the bus and down the ramps leading into the waiting room, Nick followed, the shuriken held by a chain around his neck and the brace on his left arm. Throughout the trip, he continuous fiddled with the device, trying to make it work.

The black strip on the top turned out to be a touch screen, once he realized how to turn it on. On the screen, the top of the screen read: CLAW System Model: 04, with the current time and date next to it. Under it were four different applications lined up next to each other: Transformation, Communicate, System Status and finally DD.

"The more I mess with this thing, the more of a Power Ranger I feel…" Nick said, examining it all around.

Nick made it down the ramp and walked into the waiting room where Layla sat, still playing with her phone. He walked over to her, eager for her to answer the questions that were making laps around his head.

Layla looked up and looked at her phone. "You're a minute late."

"What do you want?" Nick demanded.

"You know it's rude to make a girl wait."

"You know I don't care right?"

Layla laughed. "Oh man, I love this. This whole 'I hate the world' attitude is cute."

"If all you wanted to do was make fun of me, good luck because I honestly don't care about what you think of me." Nick stated.

"That's a lie." She stretched. "It's hitting you harder than an ice-covered brick and you know it."

"Shut up." Nick shot at her.

"Nah, I'm good." She looked back at him. "You see, when I'm disrespected, I've learned that to get it off my chest, I have to return fire. If you don't like it then do something about it."

Nick balled up his fist, fighting the urge to punch her. "I… can't."

Layla raised her eyebrow. "Why not…? Come on, I can take a hit." She stood up and leaned forward with her cheek In front of him. "Don't worry, it won't hurt."

"My mom taught me not to hit girls…" Nick admitted.

"My mom taught me that people these days don't give a crap about morals anymore." Layla countered. "Come on, I can see it in your eyes, you're dying to punch me. Unless…"

"Unless what?" he asked.

"You don't want to damage this cute face of mine. Is that it?" she smiled at him.

Nick's face turned bright red and he stepped back. "Wha—what gave you that idea?! I never said you were cute!"

"Layla, that's enough," the tiger spoke from behind her. "You're going to make him wet himself."

Layla sighed and turned back. "Alright, alright…"

"Who said that?" Nick asked her.

Layla took a step to the right and presented the tiger who sat patiently. "Hello Nick; we need to talk. Takeru wants to wait until tomorrow to bring you up to speed, but to be honest, after what happened in the Dream World, I don't have the patience. I see you received my shuriken."

Nick involuntarily reached for the shuriken around his neck and realized who the tiger was. "There's no way…"

The tiger nodded. "What's the matter? You know who I am, there's no need to be surprised."

"I think I have every right to be surprised!" Nick said. "You're the Ninja of Dreams—my alter-ego—me!

"Correction: _you_ are _me!_" the tiger replied firmly. "I'm the real you. You are just the shy, pathetic frail jerk who took over when you decided to cut your ties with those close around you. I'm here, to bring the old you back."

"And how do you figure you're going to do that?" Nick asked.

"Simple; Forcing it out of you." The tiger replied confidently. "Of course I won't be able to do it in a day, so I'll hang around with you until then. For now, Layla, can you bring him up to date on what's going on?"

Layla nodded and sat down, patting the bench next to her. "Take a seat." Next ferry comes in fifteen minutes, so we got time before it shows up.

Nick reluctantly took a seat and Layla cleared her throat. "Well then, let's get reacquainted. My name is Layla Santiago. And this, of course is your Dream alter-ego in a small, tiger body.

The tiger nodded.

"Takeru explained to me what happened in your dream." Layla continued. "He interacted with you, didn't he?"

"I… I remember so little…" Nick replied.

"That's normal." Layla replied. "It's hard to recall dreams, so try to remember as much as you can."

"I… remember he said something about a 'Job Offer'. What did he mean by that?"

"That thing on your arm is proof that you accepted it." The tiger spoke.

"Accepted what? What job did he mean?"

"You've just agreed to become a Dream Driver." Layla smiled. "Congrats."

"What is a Dream Driver exactly…?"

Out of nowhere, screams bellowed throughout the terminal, grabbing the trio's attention instantaneously. They jumped up and ran out the doors, finding the source of the screams.

"It's one of those monsters from my dream…" Nick said, noticing the red and black Ant-like Dreamon that walked down the wide area.

The Ant Dreamon cracked its neck and reached for something behind it. He pulled his arm back from behind him and held his palm up to its mouth, it being filled with red and black sand. It blew the sand, as it scattered in the air.

The sand rained down and reformed into a dozen weaker-looking humanoids, half of them red and the other black; both groups had a colored mask of the other group on their faces and they wielded katana blades, the color of the hilts matching their masks.

"Get them!" The Ant Dreamon ordered them.

The foot soldiers nodded and began to case after the people attempting to escape.

"Oh perfect." Layla said frustrated. "Dustoids is one thing but a Dreamon on top of it?"

"And it's not like I can do much in this form." The tiger growled. "Crap…"

Layla turned to Nick and then looked at his brace. "Wait a sec…"

Nick turned back to her. "What?"

"Didn't Takeru take down a Dreamon in your dream?" Layla asked.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"He didn't do it with his bare hands, did he?"

"No he transformed into some Power Ranger-thing, but what has that got to do with—"

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Perfect!"

"What…?" Nick said, taking a step back from her.

"Layla, please don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking…? The tiger added.

"Oh, but I am. And If it saves our butts then I don't want any backtalk, understood furball?" she told him.

"What are you planning? You don't expect me to fight that thing do you?"

"Oh ho ho, but I do!" she grabbed his arm and pressed the 'Transformation' button on the screen. The screen switched over to another screen with an arrow pointing to the front of the brace with the words: "Slide CLAW into dock" next to it.

"Oh no! I am not fighting that thing!" Nick stated. "I'm not risking my butt for no one!"

"Well what choice do we have? If we don't stop that thing people are going to die. Trust me, if I could I would but we don't have any other option.

"So why don't you take this and do it?" Nick asked, finding a way to take the brace off.

"Because… I am you're inner self, not hers." The tiger told him. "My brainwaves and yours are the only ones that can sync together since we're one in the same, so to speak. To put it in terms that you can understand: Shut up and follow my lead, understood?"

Nick took a look at the Dustoids that were forcing the stragglers attacking the civilians and he swallowed hard. "Okay; just this once…"

"Alright then: Toss the shuriken into the air, and Let's Run Wild!"

Nick nodded and took the shuriken off, tossing it to the tiger. The tiger hopped into the air and grabbed it with its mouth, transforming into a tiger Claw afterward.

"Slide it onto the brace. It'll send out a marker that will generate the Belt around your waist." Layla instructed.

Nick nodded and slowly slid the CLAW onto his brace.

"_**CLAW SET!"**_ the belt announced as the belt suddenly materialized around his waist.

"Now take it off and transform; you know how to do that, right?" Layla asked.

"Yeah, I slide it onto the belt right?" Nick asked.

"Yup, you got it."

"Alright then..." Nick smirked. He turned back and ran towards the Ant Dreamon.

"Hey!" Nick called the bug out, grabbing its attention.

"Beat it punk, I don't have time to play with someone who wants to be a hero." The Ant told him, not impressed by his bravery.

"Too bad, because I'm not moving until I bring you down."

The ant scoffed. "Really now…? Alright kid, let's see what you got!"

"Gladly…" Nick pulled the CLAW off his brace and held it next to his face. "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" he pulled his arm back and slid the CLAW on to his belt, and held his arms out.

"_**ERROR: INVALID PASSWORD!"**_ The system replied to him.

There was an awkward silence amongst the remaining ones in the terminal, with the people in the terminal thinking that Nick was insane.

Layla facepalmed herself; "That idiot didn't tell him the activation code, are you kidding me?"

"Uh Layla… why didn't anything happen?"

"Dustoids: rip him to shreds." The Ant ordered.

The soldiers readied their weapons and launched towards Nick.

"Crap!" he yelled frantically, dropping to the ground and covering himself with his arms.

"_This is why I said for me to take over…"_ the tiger suddenly spoke in his head.

Nick shot up, blowing the Dustoids back. He sent a roundhouse kick into one of them, followed by ducking and uppercutting the second one that came up to him. He swung his arm, hitting another one in the face, while blocking a strike from another. He grabbed the wrist of the blocked one, and forced the katana out of his hand, to which Nick took care of the rest of them slashing them down.

The Dustoids exploded into piles of sand dunes, much to the shock of the Ant Dreamon and the others.

"_Sorry about that. Just had to take over briefly..."_ Nick said, with the tiger's mechanical voice speaking simultaneously with his. "Now then… Let's Run Wild!"

Nick pulled the CLAW off his belt and held it to his face once more. "HENSHIN!"

He slid it onto the belt once more and held his arms out, as the belt unleashed a green silhouette of his body frame.

"_**SHINOBI MODE!" **_the device finally announced as the frame went through him. Nick was replaced by a silver-clad, tiger-motif ninja warrior with green accents across his arms, legs and shoulders. On his back was a green hilt Katana, and his helmet had a gold shuriken-like faceplate that covered the helmet's jade green eyes.

"It can't be…" The Ant Dreamon took a step back in fear. "It's the Legendary Ninja of Dreams…!"

"Yoroshiku…" Nick took a bow. "Now then, as I was saying: Let's run wild!"


	3. Welcome to SADE

Chapter 3: Welcome to SADE

"ALRIGHT!" Layla jumped into the air, pleased with the current events. "He did it! Layla one, Takeru zero;" She said excitedly. "Now then… Everyone head to the nearest exit now! We'll handle this!"

The remaining civilians who remained heeded her advice and didn't hesitate to move as far away as possible.

Nick and the Ant Dreamon meanwhile dodged each other's attacks back and forth, but with Nick's enhanced speed, he was able to gain an upper hand on the Dreamon. He drew his Katana and began to slash the monster, before kicking it further out across the hallway.

"Nick, take a look at your Brace!" Layla called out to him.

As the Ant Dreamon recovered from the beating, Nick took a quick glance at the brace and noticed additional buttons.

"What is this? A move set?" He asked.

"In a way…" Layla admitted. "The CLAW System is powered by your subconscious. In other words, the more knowledge you have of the warrior class, the more you can exploit the system. There should be something about the Katana, right?"

Nick looked down and saw the icon. He tapped it and following it, three more icons appeared.

"Fire Art: Slash, Water Art: Slash, Lightning Art: Slash…?"

"Choose one of them and see what happens! I promise it'll be awesome!" Layla said with a smirk.

Nick looked at her unsure. But then he thought about it; after everything that's happened thus far, what could happen? He tapped the Fire key.

"_**FIRE ART: SET! SLASH ATTACK GO!"**_

Nick's Katana suddenly began to glow red and started to exert heat from it. He looked at the blade and back at the monster and charged him. As he swung the sword, flames leapt from the blade, pushing the Dreamon back with each strike.

"This… is impossible!" The Dreamon said angrily. "I will not fail Lord JACK!" The Ant roared and charged Nick.

"Layla, anymore tricks?!" He yelled as the Ant continued to charge.

"Use your Final Slash Attack to finish it off!" She replied.

In his distraction, Nick didn't see the Ant Dreamon appear in front of him. The Dreamon tackled him and sent him flying back and rolling back to Layla. She knelt down to make sure he was still breathing.

"A… Final what?"

"A Final Slash Attack!" she helped him up. "When you fight, the system builds up energy within itself to unleash one powerful attack that's enough to defeat one damaged Dreamon." She grabbed his arm and took a look at it. "It's this flashing blue gauge right here."

Nick looked at it as well and saw it flashing as well.

Layla then pressed the icon labeled "FSA", which prompted Nick to slide the CLAW onto it.

"Don't screw up." Layla patted him on the back. She hopped back to get back from the impending attack.

"So what do I do now?"

"Follow instructions! Slide the CLAW from your belt onto the Brace and follow it from there!"

Nick took the CLAW from his belt and did just so.

"_**CLAW SET: FINAL SLASH ATTACK!"**_

"_I'll take over from here kid."_ Tigerton suddenly told Nick through his headset inside the helmet.

The Helmet's eyes and the Brace both started to flash green as two clones of the Ninja materialized next to Nick.

"_Oyasumi Nasai!"_ The combination of their voices told the Dreamon.

The clone duo drew their blades and charged, quickly disappearing and reappearing as they slashed the monster in all directions. Nick then followed them, taking his Katana and finally impaling the monster, sand leaking from his wounds.

"_Blade…"_ Nick and his clones jumped into the air, rejoining themselves as his right foot began to glow in a jade colored aura.

The Ant Dreamon couldn't do anything but look up in horror at his assailant.

"…_Kick!"_ Nick finished as he flipped and sent a landing kick into the blade, pushing it and the Dreamon into the ground.

The Dreamon screamed in agony as it exploded in flames. Nick landed in front of the flames with the blade following. He grabbed it, swung it around and slid it cleanly into its sheath on its back.

Nick regained control of the suit of armor and turned back, seeing the lifeless body of a young man covered by the sand of the Dreamon. He felt his body go cold at the sight of him, slowly turning back to Layla."Is he...?"

"He's not. He's just unconscious." she said walking up to him. "By the time he's awake, he'll be in a hospital being checked out, probably not having any memories of what happened either." she reached over and pressed a button on his brace, the armor de-materializing off his person with Tigerton hopping onto the floor.

"Just what was that thing? What are Dreamon?" Nick asked immediately.

"To put it simply: Your worse fears come to life." Layla said easily. "Just like how Tigerton is your dream self, Dreamon are that as well; basically."

"So what, does that make me afraid of tigers?"

"No, that makes you afraid of being more open with people around you." It responded as it hopped onto Layla's shoulder.

"The Dreamon are monsters that are created from the fear in one's heart. The fear gets to the point of leaking over, and a Dreamon can take over, like a parasite.

"And you mentioned 'Dream Drivers?' what is that?"

"Ever watched Inception?"

Nick nodded.

"Sorta like that. If the Dreamon seems to be more of a threat than initially anticipated, like say for example, turn into a giant monster, 'Dream Drivers' are able to dive into the subconscious of the victim and cut the Dreamon from the roots. Maybe next time, we'll end up heading into the dream world to do one. That is…" she turned to Tigerton. "If a certain Tiger keeps his claws from potential Dreamon and actually gives us a chance to do something."

"I'm a ninja." Tigerton replied. "I'm quicker than you humans are."

Layla rolled her eyes and looked over, noticing the huge crowd of people coming from one of the exits of the terminal.

"Ferry's here, let's get a move on." Layla told the two of them.

"Nah, that's ok. I got all of my answers for one day." Nick told her, turning around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tigerton stopped him.

"Home; I did what you wanted me to do and I got what I came for." He continued to walk.

Layla clenched her teeth and balled her fist up. She then reached over and pulled his shoulder, sending a right hook into his face, knocking him on the floor. She reached down and grabbed his shirt collar, the once arrogant teen actually scared once again.

"I have HAD IT!" She screamed at him. She was drawing attention to them, but she didn't care. "You have no idea what kind of mistake you're making by doing this; Why can't you get it through your ignorant skull that whether or not you like it you're stuck with me from here on?!"

Nick looked around, putting aside his stinging cheek to notice the people staring. "Uh Layla…?"

"Shut up!" She snapped again. "You are coming even if I have to drag you there understand!? So do me a favor and drop this stupid poser attitude of yours and let's go!"

"Layla…?" Tigerton spoke up.

"Because if you dip on me now, I _swear_ I'll make the rest of your senior year and beyond a living hell for the rest of the term. "I lied about transferring from Stuyvesant High School, I was kicked out for Anger Management issues, so trust me when I say—"

"LAYLA!" Nick and Tigerton interrupted her.

Layla suddenly snapped out of her rant and looked at them both.

"The doors are closing we're about to miss the boat!" Nick pointed.

Layla looked over and saw the doors to the boat begin to slide shut. She quickly got up, pulling Nick to his feet and grabbing Tigerton in her other hand.

"Run for it!" She ordered them both as they flew towards the ferry…

They just barely made it, sliding through the doors and onto the boat safely, as it began to pull off…

* * *

Outside, a young boy bopped his heads to the beats coming from his black and red Skull Candy headphones as he watched the ferry boat pull off from the terminal. He wore a red shirt and a black hoodie, with black jeans and red sneakers. He adjusted his glasses and leaned his head back over the bench, his inverted vision taking in the upside-down view from behind.

"Well then; guess that's the last time I decide to use Ants to do a Spider's job." The boy sighed. "Dang these humans are getting more annoying…" he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a deck of black-backed cards. He closed his eyes and then began to shuffle them with his one hand.

Moments pass and he opened his eyes, something grabbing his attention. He looked over and saw two fairly attractive Japanese teenagers walk towards his direction towards the doorway inside the terminal. He sat up and jumped over the bench in front of them, not letting go the deck of cards.

"Why good afternoon ladies..." The boy smiled, bowing. "How are you today?"

The two girls looked at each other, confused as to what was happening.

The boy looked at them. "Don't speak English?"

One of the girls looked at him as her friend took a step back behind her.

"Sorry… um… how may we help… you?" she spoke slowly, trying to remember her English phrases.

"I am a street magician, is all, hanging around to entertain beautiful visitors such as you to my humble city of New York. How are you two doing by the way?"

The former girl nodded with a small smile.

"We are good." The spokesman of the duo told him.

"Excellent. As I said, I'm a magician, one who specifically specializes in Card Magic." He shuffled the cards around him effortlessly before revealing each of them to be a "Jack of Diamonds".

"Pick a card." He told them.

"They are all the same…" She told him.

The boy raised his eyebrow. "Are they?" he looked at them. "No… take a closer look." He turned the cards back to her and showed that they were all numbered from A-K, but with all of them being a Diamond card.

"Diamonds have the ability to reflect off of any surface, making things seem to look the same." He explained. "My card magic is more of an illusion than real magic. It plays with the mind. The cards are all Diamonds I assure you, that part is true."

She nodded and reached for a card.

"Ah-ah ah… Not you, your cute friend here." The boy stopped her.

"Oh! Sorry…" She apologized. She motioned for her friend to take one of the cards and she shyly reached for one.

"Excellent choice…" The Boy smiled. He shuffled the deck. "Alright, put it back into the deck."

She nodded and slid it into the middle of it.

He began to shuffle the deck more. "Tell me; are you afraid of bugs by any chance?"

The shy girl looked at him and nodded. "Kabuto Beetles…"

"Oh? Well now, that seems interesting." He nodded. He finally stopped shuffling. "Alright. Your card is on the bottom of this deck. Ready?"

The girls looked at each other and then back at him. They nodded.

The boy smiled. "Is this your card?"

He revealed the bottom of the deck, revealing a 'Jack of Diamonds'."

The girl shook her head.

"Sir, she did not choose this one…"

The boy smirked. "As I said I'm an illusionist. I manipulate the minds of people. I never asked you to pick a card. I was asking my _cards_ to pick one of you. And my cards, chose you."

The Card began to glow with a red and black aura as it shot towards the girl, hitting her in the chest. She flew back, her friend frantically turning around almost instantly.

The girl screamed, feeling her body absorbing the card into her body. At the same time, the thoughts of Kabuto beetles continued to flood her mind, causing her screaming to amplify. After a few moments she stopped screaming and fell unconscious.

"_Miyuki-chan! Daijobu?!"_ Her friend said frantically, trying to shake her awake.

The boy smirked and reached in his pocket. He pulled out a red pocket watch and opened it, revealing it to be set to 8:00.

"Sweet Dreams, beautiful. Your nightmare starts: Now…" he pushed the button on the top, the clock ticking backwards.

Miyuki's eyes sprung open, her eyes turning black and her once hazelnut irises now red. She shot to her feet and roared, a spiral of red and black sand enveloping around her. Once it broke, the once Japanese girl was replaced with a red and black Beetle-like Dreamon. She had ruby red armor covering her torso and bladed wrist guards. On her back she held a black bo staff that was attached to the back of the armor.

The other Japanese girl, horrified by her friend's sudden transformation, screamed and ran for help afterward. The Beetle Dreamon looked over her shoulder and laughed.

"Leave her be." The boy said. "I have a job for you."

The Beetle Dreamon bowed before him. "Yes Lord JACK."

"The Ninja of Dreams has crossed over from the Dream World and has joined forces with the Dream Drivers." JACK explained. "ACE wants him dead and has me doing all the hard work. Lazy nerd… Anyway, they're heading to Manhattan. You know the drill: Kill, destroy, and build the fear in the humans. More fear, means more of our Dreamon brethren breaking through from the Nightmare realm; and more of our brethren here on Earth in this dimension…

"Means that we will take the Earth for ourselves…" The Beetle Dreamon finished.

"Atta girl." JACK said patting her shoulders. "Now then, off you go."

The Beetle nodded and extended her wings, flying off towards the city on the other side of the water.

JACK hopped back on the bench and watched her fly off. "Thousands of years dealing with these humans and barely anything to show for it..." He scoffed. "Unbelievable…" he blinked, his eyes turning black and red as well. "Guess it means that we should start taking this seriously now…"

* * *

Nick, Layla and Tigerton stopped in front of the familiar tall building in the heart of Manhattan.

"This is…"

"The building from your dream, isn't it?"

Nick nodded without hesitation.

"This is SADE HQ: The Secret Association of Dreamon Extermination."

"Wait, if it's secret, then why is it so blatantly exposed like this?"

"SADE is a subgroup of the FBI in NYC, which specializes in counter terrorist operations involving dream-related cases, most of the time, Dreamon Extermination. Tigerton is Mark IV of SADE's 'Cybernetic Lethal Animatronic Warrior' System, also known as: CLAW."

The trio walk inside and Nick quickly takes in his surroundings, the crowed building filled with agents and civilians going back and forth in different directions taking care of whatever business they might be involved in.

"Come on." Layla grabbed his arm. "We're going to see Takeru."

"Whoa wait a second!"

"Nope, not happening." She replied, continuing to drag him. "Came too far for this..."

"_Not for nothing kid, but I think to save you from getting a second earful from her, you should just go along with it…"_

Nick sighed and nodded. "Fine… Hey wait a sec, did you say that Tigerton?"

Tigerton turned around and shook his head.

"_I said that…"_

The trio turned to their right and saw Takeru standing before them with Kyuge on his shoulder.

"Good afternoon, Nicholas." Takeru said. "Welcome to SADE…"


End file.
